Visioning 2026 Blog

Engaging Millennials -- four major motivators for millennials

Check out the following (very short) article:

Engaging Millennials

which lists four major motivators for millennials.  The article can be found here:

http://www.hermangroup.com:80/alert/archive_1-07-2009.html

-Larry

On the Edge -- stuck in a prolonged deflationary trap

Another email newsletter from Rick Smyre on a New York Times article by Paul Krugman, On the Edge.

Am sending this article to you for two reasons....one to focus on the importance of the deflationary trap about which Krugman mentions in this article. Second, I am having more and more conversations with citizens at the local level who are obviously concerned, and I think almost to the point of getting involved...but they don't know what to do and are stuck with traditional knowledge and experience that relates less and less to the kind of society and economy that seems to be emerging.

 In my opinion, what we currently are observing at the federal level reflects problems on both sides of the isle with the way we will need to think about how to prepare for a future that is very different from the past. There is no template and if politics as usual continues to be the way we approach increasingly complex and difficult problems, we will continue to see both economic and social disruptions grow which will, in turn exacerbate the problems. It is interesting to see how the concept of "either/or" thinking is inhibiting and, at times, preventing the ability to think and act at a higher level of complexity.

 What is happening provides an opportunity for futures thinking and transformative dialogue at the local level in people and small groups who care about learning trends, weak signals and transformational concepts and methods. In my opinion, without developing new capacities for transformation at the local level, we will continue to see increased frustration that may boil over into anger and violence if the economy tumbles into such negative territories that citizens lose all faith in their leadership.

 As the Chinese say, "with crisis there is opportunity." The conversations I have had with people throughout the country this week gives me great hope that we will see more and more "access points" where the ideas and methods of community transformation will not be seen as just nice to know, but necessary to move beyond our present economic and potentially social debacle.

 Hope all of you have had a good week. All the best.  Rick

Another post captured from Larry:

Along the lines of our "and/both thinking"... consider the following article by Burton W. Folsom, Jr. entitled "Do We Need a New New Deal?" which is the second article on the following page:

http://www.hillsdale.edu/news/imprimis.asp

Isn't that an eye-opener!?  What might be the implications of a New New Deal?

 BTW, if anyone wants to read the Krugman article without registering for NYTimes online, read it here:

http://buzz.yahoo.com/article/1:new_york_times:67347aa903876d8af7f563180344b1df

 Great discussion, everyone!

 Larry

twitter: VirgilOutlander

SL:  Virgil Outlander

Leadership Norfolk Class Project Reference Material

Just a quick follow-up from the session on Feb 3^rd.

 On my signature block below you’ll see several of the network sites I’m using. Please take the opportunity to create an account and if you already have one please invite me. See what connections you can make through these new communication technologies.

 Here are a couple more websites that may be helpful during your group project efforts.

 http://www.visioning2026.com/

 http://communitiesofthefuture.org/

 http://www.communitytransformer.com/

http://www.kurzweilai.net/index.html?flash=1

 I mentioned that Twitter now has many other applications that have access to the tweets.

http://www.tweetlater.com/

http://www.twellow.com/twellowhood/

http://twittgroups.com/showgroups.php

http://www.twitpic.com/

http://www.ehow.com/how_4668396_connect-twitter-facebook-status-updates.html

 I look forward to hearing how your projects progress. 

 The journey is greater than the end.

Mark Hall

http://www.linkedin.com/in/hallmarkd

http://twitter.com/trumark

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=517061207

The Future Will Have More Uncertainty

This is a excerpt from an email newsletter published by Rick Smyre, President, Communities of the Future.

This is the first of my two weekly messages/articles that I will be forwarding. I thought this article by Tom Friedman, Elvis Has Left the Mountain, particularly appropriate because of his emphasis that the future will have more uncertainty than we have ever seen and that it will take a longer time to get out of this economic mess.

One of the articles that I am writing in the near future for our web site will focus on how I believe we are in a turning point of values and ideas that will need to be aligned to a new type of world that, not only is constantly changing, but one whose foundation principles of how we learn, how we do economic development, how we lead and how we govern will need to transform. Our present institutions were created in a time of slow change where hierarchies and standard/singular outcomes were appropriate.

I find it fascinating how much our COTF work (that is focused on building capacities for transformation) is resonating recently with so many diverse people.

What has not struck many people, in my opinion, is that the Western emphasis on individuality (that has evolved to extreme measures) is inconsistent with the need of building multiple connections....and that we are entering a world of systemic connections where a newly emerging culture, interconnected economic networks, and holistic learning ideas will be seamless for those who are successful. This is far different from out of date ideas of an Industrial Age era, and is nothing less that the birth of a new approach to the future. It is almost as if we are seeing the application of Gladwell's emphasis on a tipping point related to a new type of society that is emerging.

One of the reasons that I think our COTF work is now connecting with multiple ahas! at this point is that, until recently, few people have seen the need to study trends, weak signals and transformational ideas, and therefor, are left stuck in a traditional thinking box that is based on increasingly obsolete ideas and methods...thus adding to the frustration we are seeing...as well as the increasing fear for the future.

I noticed that this same type of idea was at the center of Friedman's article as those in Davos, in side conversations, were still searching for the "one" man or idea who could get us out of this mess. This resonates with the question I asked my VPs thirty years ago..."what is it that we need to do to resolve this yarn quality problem?" It took me ten years to realize I had asked the wrong question. Any question I should have asked should have emphasized the idea that ....what are the various interacting factors that we need to consider?

The connection is that both those in Davos who were asking this question and my own inappropriate question in 1975 are based on "one factor thinking." We have been moving into an age of institutional shifts that will be based on complex adaptive systems where leadership is focused on building capacities for transformation, and where deeper collaboration will be required, in my opinion, to resolve increasing complex issues. I emphasize the need to think about issues within a transforming futures context. Traditional thinking, knowledge and experience is no longer enough.

Notice the struggle in many places to include Washington, DC to get beyond the dichotomies of either/or thinking. In a time of innovation where developing new connections will be the rule, we are often still stuck in traditional ways of thinking that looks for the one answer. To me, this is at the core of Friedman's article.

Hope a couple of ideas in it are of interest. All the best. Rick

NorthFork Interview Session Comments

This entry is for steering committee members to post comments that they would like to share with other steering committee members and the HDR Engineering, Inc team. These notes will help with the interview session conducted on Feb. 23rd and 24th. as well as the April 16th visioning workshops.

Connections Between XStreet, FreeBase, and Smartphones

Several technologies are changing our lives for the future.

1. Open application interface standards -- Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
2. Open structured data base standards -- FreeBase  http://www.freebase.com/
3. Smartphone technologies integrated with navigation tools -- high bandwidth wireless technologies
4. 3D Virtual Reality platforms -- SecondLife
5. Web 2.0 integrated technology development tools -- eCommerce payment tools such as XStreet  http://www.xstreetsl.com/
6. Secure exchange of information between mobile devices -- Create a publicly available digital fingerprint, known as a cryptographic hash mark, that will make it possible for anyone to determine that documents are authentic and have not been tampered with. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/science/27arch.html?_r=1

With structured data you can now do intelligent or scripted queries. With this structured database and open source application programming interface (API) services I can see where smartphone user development features will accelerate.

The next big break through, I believe, is when we can start using our smartphones to complete secure transactions. Your mobile communicator, computer, web search tool, business organizer, navigation tool, and entertainment center will then be almost complete (needs to be a outside your body remote sensor to collect health information off your internal sensors).

Now we should be able to use the smartphone sensor technology to record information and then be able to transform/transpose the data into a 3D virtual reality platform and then back again once we have modified the virtual reality.

We now could visualize (with holograhic display technologies) our future reality right in a community redevelopment effort.

10 Trends Shaping the Future of Our Communities

As we transition from a burgeoning economy to one that's rapidly deflating, people are realizing that placemaking offers the ideal approach to improving our cities and neighborhoods in these hard times.

Placemaking puts people first. It is a holistic approach based on public involvement, on citizens working to make things better. Capitalizing on communities' often overlooked assets and can-do spirit, placemaking shows how we can advance everyone's health and happiness without spending huge amounts of money.

We now see the limitation of the privatized pursuits that flourished in recent years, and are rediscovering the importance of truly public spots"parks, markets, waterfronts and downtowns, to name a few"where we can come together to meet our needs and solve problems.

Taking stock of our work over the past year, we noticed 10 significant trends that are redefining the world as we know it, even in a down economy. What stood out in looking over all that we accomplished in 2008 was how people can still make big changes in their community if they have the right tools.

1. Placemaking gains ground around the globe
2. Collaboration is the key to making change
3. Greenplace: How community revitalization fights climate change
4. Placemaking is essential to vibrant travel destinations
5. Libraries emerge as new town squares
   
6. How cities stay lively 12 months a year
7. The Power of 10 leverages community assets
8. Public markets provide a leg up in a down economy
9. The rise of community-based transportation planning
10. New developments create innovative models for destinations

http://www.pcma.org/Convene/Issue_Archives/November_2008/Leading_By_Example.htm

http://www.uli.org/ResearchAndPublications/Magazines/UrbanLand/2008/August.aspx

Smart Grid Technology

Smart Grid Technology for NorthFork Riverwalk Development Project?

Among utilities pursuing smart grid technologies, Xcel Energy took the lead in March 2008, when it announced plans to convert Boulder, Colorado, into the nation's first fully integrated "Smart Grid City." Since then Xcel Energy has fitted the Chancellor's Residence at the University of Colorado with smart grid technologies, including an energy management system, a solar power system, a battery system for backup power, and a plug-in hybrid vehicle that will be automatically charged during off-peak times. The utility has also announced near-term plans to convert 60 hybrid vehicles to plug-in hybrids in order to test vehicle-to-grid technologies, with plans to eventually add another 500 plug-in hybrids. Meanwhile, the General Electric Company (GE) is preparing for smart grid technologies with plans to soon introduce a suite of "smart appliances" that can reduce their energy demand in response to signals from the electric utility. GE notes, for instance, that a smart refrigerator can delay its automatic defrost cycle until non-peak hours. The GE suite of smart appliances will also include ranges, dishwashers, microwave ovens, and clothes washers and dryers. See the Xcel Energy press releases on the Chancellor's Residence and vehicle-to-grid tests, as well as the GE press release.